Heinz 'given every opportunity' to retain naming rights to Steelers' Acrisure Stadium?

Even if free-agent acquisition Mitchell Trubisky is essentially already the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers heading into training camp, as most assume is the case, Pittsburgh nevertheless is on track to hold a summer competition for the position's No. 2 role between career backup Mason Rudolph and first-round draft selection Kenny Pickett.

However, arguably the hottest Steelers-related topic of the month continues to be the controversial and much-maligned change from Heinz Field to Acrisure Stadium after an insurance brokerage firm out of Michigan purchased the venue's naming rights. For a mailbag released on Tuesday, Bob Labriola of the team's website was asked if the Pittsburgh-based ketchup company was "given a chance to renew the sponsorship" before Acrisure swooped in. 

"My sense is that The Kraft Heinz Company was given every opportunity to retain the naming rights, and the Steelers sought other alternatives only when it became clear there wasn't a deal to be made there," Labriola answered. 

Heinz seemed to confirm Labriola's take last week when the company explained that the Steelers simply "found a new partner willing to pay significantly more than we could justify" for the stadium's naming rights. While Heinz spent an average of $2.85 million per year over the past two decades to have its name on the Steelers' home, Acrisure is reportedly now paying over $10 million a year.